Our Hearts Beat as One
by Sitting Ducki
Summary: Tony and Gibbs are in a relationship when he goes as Agent Afloat. When the unexpected happens more then the team find out about them and they learn a few things about the others. Starts between season 5&6, mostly cannon though a little a/u and of course slash. WARNING: CONTAINS SLASH. IF YOU DO NOT LIKE DO NOT READ. YOU HAVE BEN WARNED. DO NOT PASS GO DO NOT COLLECT 200
1. Goodbye

After leaving Vance's office Tony and Gibbs return to Gibbs' house without saying a word. Tony's gut clenched at the thought of leaving and what happened. Gibbs had been quieter than usual since he answered Jenny's phone and Tony thought he blamed Tony and Ziva for what happened to her though they were just trying to follow orders.

"I'll ask Palmer and Tim to come help me pack up my stuff and get a storage locker to put it in." Gibbs stops short of the kitchen to look at him and Tony looks down. "I mean I know you blame me for this mess and now that I'm going away ..." Gibbs went to him.

"Tony you will be back and the assignment isn't forever."

"It wasn't my fault that she died and ..." Gibbs sits next to him pulling Tony close.

"I know Tony and she was being stubborn but why do you want to move out?"

"I'm leaving for what a year? You can finally have your dream team while we go off to new assignments. Jenny offered me a promotion and instead I'm getting every agent's nightmare. I should just quit, the FBI's always after me or even Metro PD at least I won't be the laughing stock." Gibbs shakes his head.

"It's not … going as Agent Afloat is an advancement. It's weird but to move up into Senior Field Agent status you have to at least do one stint as agent afloat."

"So it's not even up to me. What happened to Jenny wasn't my fault, I would never want to hurt someone like that." Gibbs hugs him closer. "Vance has hated me since the Le Grenouille incident and ..."

"I don't know if he has anything planned but he can't make you stay without consent beyond 9 months. Jenny's been in touch with him for a while. She's been sick and it had no cure so I think he's been prepping to take over for her." Tony doesn't say anything and Gibbs takes his hand. "This is a good thing."

"You just want me out of here as much as Vance does." Gibbs makes Tony look at him before kissing him. "Don't distract me. Just do me a favor and let Palmer pack up my things before you throw it out."

"I'm not going to throw your stuff or you out What can I do to prove to you that I want you and I'm going to be waiting for you?"

"Give me something to believe that." Gibbs nods,

"Okay, then marry me." Tony chuckles and Gibbs shakes his head. "I'm not joking, lets get Jimmy, Abby and Ducky and go to that chapel down by Arlington National and get married. They do marriage licenses too."

"Are you serious?"

"Yes, it's permanent unless you decide to leave and it'll give you a reason to come home." Tony thinks about this and Gibbs pulls him close. "Tony, I love you and we talked about it. You know your dad will never come around and we can save the big ceremony for when you get back."

"Will you wear a tux for the big one?" Gibbs grins,

"I'll wear whatever you want but no dress." Tony kisses him and jumps up. "Call Jimmy and I'll call Abby and Ducky." Out of their friends and former co-workers Abby, Ducky and Jimmy were the only ones who knew about their relationship. Jenny hinted at something but Gibbs always ignored it.

"Tony, I'm happy that you guys want to get married but do you really need me there?"

"Yes, if I don't have you stand up to be my best man then who will? Come on Jimmy, I asked him for something permanent and he asked me to marry him. He said it'll only end if I leave."

"Okay, when do you want me to meet you?" When Tony hangs up Gibbs was smiling.

"Abby can make it but Ducky can't. He said Victoria is acting off and the nurse refuses to stay any longer." Tony frowns,

"Well at least I convinced Jimmy to come. He seems to think you hate him."

"If I didn't kill him for walking into your apartment like that then I wouldn't kill him for this."

"I forgot he was staying there while his place was fumigated but he's okay with us. I asked him to be the best man since I figured Ducky would be yours." Gibbs kisses him lightly.

"Abby's meeting us here in 10 and she can stand up for me." At the chapel the paperwork was filled out and Abby noticed something.

"They have a shop over here, you two should at least have rings. Even if you can't take them with you Tony you should still have them." Tony pulls a chain from around his neck.

"We already have them but don't wear them. He asked me to marry him but I wanted to wait until my father came around before we actually had the wedding." Abby hugs them both.

"I'm so happy for you and I'm glad I could be here for you." After the ceremony they go out to eat and then Jimmy and Abby leave so Tony and Gibbs get matching tattoos. They couldn't be seen when they were wearing clothes but Tony hoped not too many people would see that much of him.

"I love you Anthony Gibbs, you will come back home."

"I hope so or I'm going to quit. When this round is up and if I'm not back I'll quit. The FEEBS are always after me or I'll work for Metro PD something nearby." Gibbs hugs him as Tony loads the rest of his stuff in his bag. "I love you Jethro." They kiss and then Gibbs puts something around his neck and Tony sees Gibbs' dog tags.

"I want you to return these to me. When you get home I'll collect them." Tony hugs him hard.

"I wish I had something to leave with you that means just as much."

"You did, your heart. Come on before Vance sends out head hunters for you when you don't show up on time. Ship can't leave without you." Tony groans and when Gibbs parks he's not too close to the ship. "I want to kiss you and I don't think you want the garbage it can bring."

"Thanks," Tony gives him a quick kiss before putting the ring and the dog tags under his shirt and getting the bag from the trunk. "Good-bye,"

"Hey!" Tony turns and Gibbs chuckles. "They do have the Internet on these ships and I do have an email thing." Tony grins at him and walks towards the ship. He didn't know what would happen but hoped the time would pass by quickly.


	2. Bad News

Tony usually sent Gibbs an email first thing in the morning and checked his email last thing at night for a response over the next two months. Gibbs, Abby and Jimmy emailed him regularly and Tony sent Abby post cards but collected things for home which he usually mailed to Gibbs. Gibbs would let him know when they arrived but didn't open them which Tony found annoying because some were specifically meant for him. Tony also stayed in touch with Tim and Ziva but that was once a week or less as they didn't really have much to talk about anymore. When Gibbs hadn't heard from Tony in two days he went to see Abby.

"Hey Abs,"

"Gibbs, what's wrong? Why did you come down here?" Gibbs just looks at her and she shakes her head. "I haven't heard from Tony in 2 days and now you're down here. What's going on?" Gibbs groans closing his eyes.

"I haven't either I came to see if you heard anything. I wouldn't be the one to be contacted though but I hoped maybe you heard something or ..."

"You would, I entered your marriage into the system. Just as next of kin for Tony and him for you. Since it's legal I had to enter it but the last I heard they were going to have shore leave and he had one night off the ship while they did some repairs or something."

"Well that might be it. I don't know what time zone he's in and sometimes he emails me later … I just worried since I didn't hear from him yesterday."

"If you hear anything ..." Gibbs hugs her tight but his gut wouldn't stop clenching.

Up in the bullpen Lee and Langer were fighting about something or other when Keating noticed two officials step off the elevator and head towards them.

"Hi, can I help you?"

"Yes, if you could tell me where I could find Agent Gibbs?"

"I'm Agent Langer his second in command. He's not here right …" Lee knew what they were there for and elbows him. "What I am?"

"You need to call him right here. He's probably down with Abby." Keating dials Gibbs' number while Lee dials Tim's.

"Yeah, McGee?"

"Tim, it's Lee. I think you need to get up here."

"Lee, I don't know what you did but it's not my job to fix your mistakes."

"No, there are two men up here looking for Gibbs. They look like they're here to give bad news. He won't want us here." Gibbs steps off the elevator irritated by Keating's call.

"What's going on? Did you guys manage to find anything yet?" Vance who knew why they were there was coming down the stairs.

"Gibbs, if I could see you in my office. Captain, you and the Chaplin too." Gibbs shakes his head as McGee came off the elevator. "Gibbs, please my office."

"No, whatever it is you need to tell me say it here." Gibbs saw McGee and Ducky who got the call from McGee. "Is it Tony?" The Captain nods,

"I'm sorry Agent Gibbs, I'm here on the behalf of the United States Navy to inform you that Agent Anthony Gibbs was killed aboard the USS Regan while on duty." Gibbs shakes his head.

"No, this is some kind of joke and it's not funny. Who put you up to this? What …?" The Chaplin pulls out a bag.

"This was recovered from one of the bodies. There was an explosion and the bodies are still being identified but this was recovered." Gibbs took one look at the dog tags and rush to the elevators.

"Gibbs ..."

"Not now Leon … not right now."

"I'm sorry … I didn't know ..."

"You sent him away. He didn't want to go but I convinced him to stay and advance it'd be worth it. Now … he's dead and it's all because of you."

"If I had known ..."

"Of course you couldn't know but that doesn't make it any less your fault. I gotta go see Abby." Gibbs got on the elevator and didn't turn back to the doors until they closed and it was moving. When he got to the lab Abby had ZNN on which was covering the explosion on board the ship.

"Hey Gibbs, look at what happened. That's probably why we haven't heard from Tony, it's probably knocked out the Internet or ..." She stops when she sees the look on Gibbs' face. "Gibbs?"

"A navy Captain and Chaplin were just here … upstairs." Abby shakes her head knowing what that meant before collapsing. While they never dated Gibbs knew Abby and Tony were as close as brother and sister. Ducky, Tim and Vance come off the elevator.

"Gibbs, I'm sorry."

"Did you know?"

"I was informed this morning and when I went into his files to get next of kin I found that you two married. When I went down to talk to you that's when I saw Captain Barnes and the Chaplin. If you need anything …?"

"I want to know what happened?"

"Right now all we know is there was an explosion and they're trying to make a sense of what was left behind. Many body that need to be identified and they collected things to identify who might've been caught in it." Vance hands Gibbs the evidence bag with his dog tags. "I signed for them that you would receive them."

"Thank you ..."

"Do you need us to do anything Gibbs? Lee called me when she saw who wanted you but ..."

"I need some time that's all. I can't stay here, I have to make some calls and … call me if there's anything new. I need to go somewhere."

"Do you need me to reach out to Tony's dad?"

"He cut Tony out of his life when he found out we were together. Said no son of his would be with another man … we planned a bigger wedding for when he returned and ..." Gibbs collapsed to the floor with McGee and Vance rushing to him. "Just leave me alone. I don't want to be touched."

"Jethro ..."

"No, just leave me alone." Vance nods,

"McGee you can lead Jethro's team for now if that's okay with him. You can finish working on that assignment while you're leading." McGee looks at Gibbs who nods and he nods to Vance. "Take some time Jethro and let me know what you need."

"What I need you can't give me Leon." He started out of the lab when Vance stops him.

"If you need time Ms. Scuito, McGee go on too. I know you were close to him too. I'll set up the team on cold cases for now and start making phone calls."

"Call Ziva or her father and let her know. She would want to know."

"That's going to be my first call Jethro." Gibbs waits for Abby to shut everything down not wanting to leave her alone. He told Tim and Ducky to leave them alone but they could stop by the next day. He just wanted some peace for one night and knew Abby was too upset to do much fussing so they went back to his place.


	3. Surprise

Later when Ducky got home it was with a heavy heart worried about Gibbs and Abby. Everyone knew Abby and Tony bonded from the start and very few knew how Gibbs felt about Tony though Ducky was sure it was running around NCIS now. The corgi's meet him at the door and Ducky sighs as the young red head joins him.

"What's wrong? Did she call you again?"

"No, Dir. Vance gave us leave to come home early."

"What happened? Is it Tony? I saw about the explosion on the Regan …" Ducky nods and Jenny takes a deep breath. "How's Jethro?"

"He's not taking it well. This is hitting him rather hard but him and Tony …" Jenny chuckles,

"I know about them Ducky … I caught them going at it like rabbits in the closet too many times."

"You never said anything."

"They knew I knew but … it was just never talked about. How's he doing?"

"He's devastated. All that identified Anthony's body was Jethro's dog tags." Jenny closes her eyes and Ducky grew concerned. "Jenny, are you okay?"

"He was … he wouldn't let anyone else even wear them. He said the only person he let wear them was Shannon so if Tony had them … I have to go see him."

"Do you think that's wise? I mean you're still weak and …"

"I can manage going to his house and seeing him and Abby. I'm sure he's not going to leave her alone right now but if the others …"

"Ziva's still in Tel Aviv and he asked me and Timothy not to go over before tomorrow. I'd give you a ride but I can't leave mother that long."

"Thank you Ducky but I can drive over. Your mother ordered lunch for 12:30 sharp she's getting ready for her guests."

Ducky groans but when Jenny started to leave she found Gibbs parked in front of Ducky's house. She approached his truck slowly knowing he saw her and knew she was going to see him anyway.

"Hello Jethro,"

"Jenny, are you going somewhere?"

"To see you. Ducky just told me about Tony … I'm sorry."

"Thank you,, come on get in. I'll take you to the house and bring you back later." Jenny waves to Ducky who was watching from the door before getting in the truck. "Abby's at the house, she's not taking it very well but she knew I came to see Ducky."

"You don't seem surprised to see me here."

"I saw you a week after your funeral there, I assume there's a reason to hide and Ducky wouldn't keep it a secret without a good reason. I came over to drop some stuff off for Mrs. Mallard when I saw you chasing Countessa and didn't want to make things worse." Jenny chuckles,

"You just didn't want to help."

"Yeah that too." At Gibbs house Abby was laying down on the couch. "Abs …"

"I called Luca, I'm going to fly out there in a few days. I need some time to deal with everything. Until they identify his body I don't know what else to do." She sits up and just stares at Jenny. "You … what …?"

"It's a long story but I wanted to just say it once. Ducky's the only one who knows other than his mother but she doesn't know who I am just that I'm staying with her while Ducky works." Abby wanted to hug her but didn't want to get yelled out. Jenny went to her and hugs her. "I'm so sorry about Tony, I wish there was something I could do."

"Seeing you is enough but what happened?"

"That's a long story and more people who should know if you guys don't mind waiting. Ducky told me that you didn't want anyone today." Gibbs rolls his eyes before inviting McGee over. He showed up with lunch and beer knowing they needed something to drink.

"Dir. Sheppard, how …?"

"That's why we asked you over. She only wanted to explain it once."

"What about Ducky?"

"I've been staying with Ducky since he found I was alive in autopsy. One thing no one knew except Jethro and him is that when I'm in massive pain I literally can't move. I don't know what causes it but I've been like this since I was young." Gibbs nods,

"I thought … I rushed to get there and I worried about that but they had already removed your body. Vance didn't know and said he checked for a heartbeat but didn't find one."

"He doesn't … I've been sick and the medication slows my heart beat down. I'm not sure what happened but when Ducky was going to start the autopsy I opened my eyes. I think I almost gave him a heart attack." They chuckle and McGee nods.

"Why didn't he say anything? I mean we were all mourning you and …"

"I asked him not too. I'm still sick and they said there's no cure for it. I'm feeling better but I probably don't have more than a couple of months left. I didn't want to see you guys just to die later on."

"So why did you come now?"

"I wanted to see Jethro and give you guys my condolences. If you want to stay in touch then I'll be around but for now I'm staying with Ducky and his mother." Abby hugs her tight.

"We want you around and we'll help you with whatever you need."

"Thank you Abby I would like that." Abby was still going to visit Luca so she went home to pack with McGee and Jenny and Gibbs retreat to the basement. "I'm sorry about Tony, he was a good man."

"Thank you, he was upset blaming himself for what happened. We uh … we got married." Jenny nods looking at him and taking the glass jar of bourbon.

"I was there Jethro."

"No, me and Tony. The night of your funeral, he wanted something to come back to. He thought it was punishment for you dying and didn't think he would come back."

"Jethro …" Gibbs looks at her. "We're still legally married."

"I know but I thought you were dead. He was happy though and that's all that mattered. Ducky never mentioned anything of course about the marriage or you though I still would've gone through it with him."

"I don't blame you … I know you loved him."

"I did …" They sit in silence for a few minutes. "What are you going to do now?"

"Tell the world I'm alive. I'm going to his funeral so it might be better if I tell people I'm alive first." Gibbs laughs,

"Yeah, that's a good idea." They set up a meeting for the next day with Vance figuring that word would quickly spread through NCIS. Jenny was going to stay with Ducky for the time being but Gibbs would go with her to NCIS tomorrow. She wasn't sure what would happen but hoped she would be okay and things would calm down after a while.


End file.
